


Tissues

by cutielemon07



Series: Seasons of Hamilsquad [9]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF
Genre: Anti-Donald Trump, College AU, Disabled Characters, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Hypothetical Reality, Modern AU, Nuclear War, Nuclear Weapons, Physical Disability, Post-Nuclear War, Radiation Sickness, Shooting, apocalypse au, but trump nuked them off the map, disabled characters surviving the apocalypse because why not?, fallout shelters, graphic depictions of post nuclear war, here's some tissues, lawlessness, like really graphic, north korea didn't actually do anything really, nuclear radiation kills, nukes aren't the answer, radiation poisoning, so china retalitated, so graphic it gets disturbing, that escalated quickly, you will cry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2018-10-06 03:22:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10324493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutielemon07/pseuds/cutielemon07
Summary: North Korea tested nuclear weapons. Donald Trump didn't like it, so he blasted North Korea off the map. China didn't like that either and stood up for their military ally and nuked America. America nuked China and China nuked America who then surrendered. Now that the fallout's settled, the world has to adjust to life and rebuild itself post 'limited' nuclear exchange. Which for technical purposes, was not World War III. Europe, Africa, Oceania, South America and Antarctica, although not struck themselves, have been affected by fallout.But over in the United States of America, Alexander Hamilton and his Hamilsquad must navigate this post nuclear landscape by themselves, from the initial mass lawlessness and eventual marshal law, to the horrifying effects of radiation sickness when it becomes a case of who lives, who dies, who tells your story.AU and spinoff and companion piece to Seasons of Hamilsquad, but it can be read as a standalone.





	1. Dancing With tears in My Eyes

Alex was sitting in his wheelchair, channel surfing when John walked in after a lecture.

"Hey John." Alex greeted.

"Alex." John gave a one sided shrug. "What are you doing?"

"Bored." Alex replied.

"Turn it on the news or something then."

"Pats won the Super Bowl." Alex remarked. "It's all anyone's talking about. 'Brady deflated the balls. Brady's spying. Brady's a cheater. Brady cast twenty thousand votes for Donald Trump.' Fuck off." He snorted. The channels rounded back to the first once more-NBC. With that, Alex turned the TV off.

"Nothing on?" John took a seat on the couch next to Alex and let himself down with a grunt.

"Nothing on." Alex confirmed. He took his phone from his pocket and gasped.

"What?" John asked.

"Donald Trump's called for a nuclear arms race." Alex replied.

"Again?" John raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, only this time it carries weight because he's the president."

"Oh shit."

"I know."

"But who would he have an arms race with?" John asked. "I mean, he's practically fucking Vladimir Putin."

"China." Alex said.

"But China isn't a nuclear state, is it?" John frowned in thought.

"Yeah, it is." Alex said. "Along with us, Britain, France, India, Israel, Russia, Pakistan and North Korea. Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy are weapons sharing states."

"Oh shit." John blinked.

"And then there's Iran..."

"Nuclear war with Iran?"

"Maybe." Alex paused. "But it's more likely that it's China."

"Shit."

"Nothing will happen." Alex said. "Nobody wants nuclear war. They didn't want it in the fifties, or the Cuban Missile Crisis, or the eighties. And they don't want it now."

"I hope you're right, Alex." John said. "So what now?"

"Sound of Music?" Alex suggested. "Or Evita? Rent?"

"Ooh! Sound of Music!" John said excitedly. "Let's watch that. Get our minds off Trump and his idiot politics."

"That's exactly my thinking!"

"You got some good ideas in that brain of yours Alex."

* * *

Alex was watching Nexflix on his iPad when John burst into his room. 

"What's wrong now, John?" Alex asked. 

"Tensions are heating up between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un." John said. 

"What's up now?" 

"Kim Jong Un's threatening to test a nuclear missile." John replied. 

"And the sky is blue." Alex paused his show. "What else is new?"

"Well, the Great Dick-tator is threatening action."

"Oh." Alex blinked. "Well... That's not good."

"Should we... Get supplies?" John asked.

"Nah. They're not doing anything." Alex said. "They're just yapping at each other like annoying little dogs. That's all that'll happen. We won't get nuked John. That's a guarantee."

* * *

 Alex was eating his breakfast when John walked in and turned the radio on.

" _... orea, saying in a press conference that they successfully detonated a nuclear weapon. This has Japan and South Korea..._ "

"Ugh. Wonderful news, isn't it?" Alex asked. 

"Brilliant." John agreed. "So what are your plans for today?" He asked, opening a pack of Pop Tarts.

"I don't know." Alex shrugged. "Maybe I'll just go and visit Lin in Washington Heights."

"Want me to drive you?" John asked. He put the Pop Tarts in the toaster.

"If you don't mind." Alex said. "But what is there for you to do in Washington Heights? Nah, I think I'll just get a taxi."

"I could sketch the George Washington Bridge." John pointed out. "But if you want to pay money you don't have for a taxi, then go ahead."

"Why would you wanna sketch the GWB?" Alex asked as the news on North Korea droned on.

"Because I have an assignment due soon and I haven't started it."

"How soon?"

"About a week."

"Yikes." Alex pulled a face. "Yeah, you can take me if you want."

"I know. And then there's your wheelchair, Alex. Who would get your wheelchair in and out of the car? Your boyfriend, that's who."

"Okay, John, I get it. I already said you could drive me."

"Cool. When do we leave?" John asked.

"Have you had breakfast?" Alex asked.

"I'm just waiting for my Pop Tarts." John said. 

"The toaster's broken." Alex said. 

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is. Your Pop Tarts are gonna burn."

"They aren't." John stuck his tongue out childishly as he pressed a button on the side of the toaster. The Pop Tarts popped up and he grabbed them. 

Alex moved away from the small table in the kitchenette and shook his head. "You're a man child, John."

"A gay, nerdy, political, animal loving man child." John bit into a Pop Tart with a smile, which quickly vanished when his mouth was burned by the hot jam inside. "Oh! Ow! Holy crap!" He spat it out in the sink.

"You're a lot of things, John. Sensible isn't one of them." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Fuck it." John said. "Let's just go."

"Sure." Alex said. "I'll call and let Lin know we're on the way."

* * *

John and Alex were in John's car, dancing and singing along to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off as John drove to Lin's place. They were stuck in traffic, not that it seemed to bother either of them. It was a weekend, heavy traffic was to be expected. 

 " _That was Taylor Swift with Shake It Off. I hope that put you in a good mood_ -"

"You have no idea, radio guy." Alex chuckled. 

"- _after the North Korea drama. Well, they're North Korea. What really did we expect? So just because we can't bear to break with tradition, dedicated to Kim-Jong Un, here's Enola Gay_."

"Wow. How depressing." John commented as the traffic slowly started moving again, only at a crawl, almost as soon as the seemingly upbeat sounding eighties pop song started playing.

"It's _supposed_ to be depressing." Alex said.

"Oh wow. I'm so stupid, I couldn't tell." John said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

" _Enola Gay, you should've stayed at home yesterday_ -"

"Alex!" John snapped, turning the volume on the radio down.

"Sorry." Alex said. "It's catchy."

"It's not even a song about hypothetical nuclear destruction. It's Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which _actually_ happened." 

"I  _did_  learn history in Nevis, John, and in St Croix." Alex said. "And I'm studying history as part of my degree. Doesn't mean I can't like the song Enola Gay."

"You're not _supposed_ to like it." John argued.

"It's not _condoning_ the bombings, so yes, I _can_ like it."

"You're just being difficult."

" _You're_ the difficult one."

"I honestly thought you had better taste in music than this garbage."

"It's better than liking musicals." Alex said.

"Whoa, hey!" John glanced at Alex. "Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I have to like Broadway musicals."

"You once made a rap about how much you love musicals using only the titles of songs from musicals-with all the song titles from _different_ musicals!"

"Yeah, that-that is true." John said. "But it's a stereotype."

"That you fulfil, John."

"So _what_ if I fulfil it?" John said. The traffic outside was still crawling slowly.

"It's a stereotype. _I_ don't get stereotyped." Alex shrugged.

"Because there aren't any for people from Nevis or St Croix." John said through gritted teeth. He was getting annoyed with Alex not thinking before he talked.

"You're gay and like musicals."

"I mean, it's not like _all_ I like is musicals."

"That's true." Alex said. "I mean, you like Foo Fighters, don't you? A-and Jay-Z? And Beyoncé."

"You _know_ I love Queen Bey."

"Another gay stereotype." Alex argued. "Just tell me you don't like Lady GaGa and Madonna."

"You _know_ my taste in music, Alex, now shut up." John said. "Traffic's moving again."

"Well, you don't like _this_." Alex turned the radio up.

"Well that's because it's just that same 'duh duh duh duh' beat over and over. I can't like that." John said. "It's just so boring and repetitive."

Alex scoffed and folded his arms. "Like listening to people sing about their emotions is so interesting." He turned the radio up higher and folded his arms again. " _Enola Gay, it shouldn't ever have to end this way_ -"

John turned the radio down with a bit of a struggle, since he had to keep his eyes on the road. "Alex, seriously."

"John, seriously."

"This isn't going to end well and you know it."

"It's going to end with the end of the song."

"Stop listening to this maudlin shit." John said. "It's not going to do anything for your mental health."

"My mental health is fine." Alex snapped. "Can't say the same for Donald Trump."

"This _isn't_ about Trump." John said.

"They've dropped nuclear bombs twice before! They can do it again." Alex said. "Just let me have my fun before they do."

"Fine, Alex. Fine." John took his hand from the volume control.

" _And that was Enola Gay by Orchestral Movements in the Dark_ -"

"Fucking song's over now anyway." Alex said.

"- _gonna keep with the apocalypse theme now and play_ -" John turned the radio off.

"Fun's over."

* * *

"Hey, Alex, did you have fun with Lin?" Eliza asked.

"I suppose I did. It was a good visit." Alex shrugged. "You know John came and sketched out some stuff."

"I know. He told me." Eliza said.

"So uh... What's going on here?" Alex asked, gesturing at the evidently panicked students.

"Maybe you should check Twitter." Eliza suggested sheepishly.

Alex sighed and closed his eyes. "What's the bastard done _now_?"

"I'll let you find out for yourself." Eliza said, giving him her phone.

Alex took the phone and logged onto his Twitter, scrolling through until he found a tweet.

**_Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump_ **

**_North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un thinks he will get away with nuking South Korea! Sad._ **

**_Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump_ **

**_There's one thing the world needs and it's for all countries to turn against North Korea! Their dictator Kim Jong Un is a bad man!_ **

**_Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump_ **

**_This is a very unpresidented thing for Kim Jong Un to have done. Extreme vetting of all North Korean defectors! Sad!_ **

**_Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump_ **

**_North Korea just launched a nuclear weapon. They must pay for their actions. As President, I will make sure they will not get away with it!_ **

"That unhinged man has a lot of things to say, doesn't he?" Alex muttered. "Oh look, there's 'unpresidented' again. Oh and 'bad man' and 'sad'. No 'bigly' though."

Eliza snorted. "Bigly."

"What do you think he means by not letting North Korea get away with it?" Alex handed Eliza's phone over.

Eliza took her phone back and put it in her pocket. "Well, we'd better hope it doesn't mean what the news is saying it means."

"What's it matter-it's all fake anyway, right?" Alex said.

Eliza grimaced. "Well..."

"You know what I mean, Eliza. Donald Trump thinks any news organisation that thinks he's doing a bad job is fake."

"They're saying he's preparing for war."

"War?"

"As in the nuclear kind."

Alex's eyebrows shot up. "So because North Korea was being North Korea, Donald Trump wants to wipe them off the map?"

"This shouldn't surprise you, Alex."

"It doesn't." Alex said. "It horrifies me."

* * *

The next morning, Alex awoke and carried out his morning routine-changing his catheter, going to the bathroom, brushing his teeth. He went into the living room and to the kitchenette, where John was eating his food, perfecting his drawing.

"Hey." Alex greeted.

"They haven't dropped a nuke yet." John snorted.

"Threat's over." Alex said. He took a bowl for himself and put it on the table. "But with Trump, is it ever over?"

"Lol." John said.

"Lol?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "John, you've been texting too often."

"Yeah, you." John retorted.

"Very funny." Alex took the milk from the fridge.

"They're playing depressing music on the radio." John said as Alex made himself cereal.

"When you say 'depressing'..."

"I don't mean shit like Solsbury Hill." John said. "I mean shit like A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall."

"They're still bigging up that Trump's gonna cause a nuclear war, then." Alex commented.

"Alex, he may have already started it." John said.

Alex would be lying if he said that John's statement didn't give him the chills. Instead, he tried to brush it off.

And John walked over to the radio and turned it on.

" _-'s over! It's over!_ " Midge Ure cried out. Alex's heart skipped a beat. He knew it was just a song, but it was a frightening song.

" _-for the memory of a life gone by-_ "

"You can turn it off now, John." Alex said. "You've made your point."

"Have I though, Alex?" John asked. "I mean, nothing's happening now, but... Donald Trump, Alex. Something's coming, I can feel it."

"Like Tony in West Side Story?"

"This isn't time for joking!" John slammed his hands on the table. His expression though, was not one of anger, but one of fear.

Alex saw this and sighed. "I'm sorry, John." He said sincerely. "I shouldn't have... Shouldn't have joked."

John nodded and sat down, still sporting his fearful expression. It wasn't often that John Laurens was scared.

They sat in mutual silence with only the radio as background noise-The Police's Message in a Bottle-until Alex's phone pinged. He lifted his phone slightly to look at the message.

**From:** **Lin**

**Heard teh news?**

Alex picked up his phone and typed out a response.

**To:** **Lin**

**What news?**

He went back to eating his breakfast with John until his phone pinged almost immediately after.

**From:** **Lin**

**Trump's just nuked NK**

Alex's jaw dropped and he struggled to process what had just been sent to him.

John noticed this. "Alex?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

Unable to say anything, Alex simply showed John the text.

"Holy crap." John said.

"I know."

"Turn the radio up."

"You're closer!" Alex argued.

John leaned over and turned the radio up.

" _-king news now, Donald Trump has ordered a nuclear strike on the secluded country of North Korea. We don't know yet whether the missile has struck the country yet or not-_ "

"Fuck." John shoot up. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." He kept repeating the word over and over again.

"John, calm down-"

"It's happened, Alex!" John grabbed his hair. "We're going to die! Can't you understand?"

"I understand, John, but remember the Life Support affirmation in Rent." Alex said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "There's only us, there's only this."

"Yeah." John nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"I'm going to get dressed and pack some stuff." Alex said. He turned to their shared bedroom.

John turned the radio off. "I don't want to know how much time I have left. _There's only us, there's only this_." He sang, shakily.

"I know." Alex began shoving clothes into his backpack-anything that would fit. John pulled out his backpack and did the same thing. Both of them were frantically packing any of their belongings that would fit in their bags.

Alex heard his phone ping again, so he went over to it.

**From:** **Lin**

**The UN are having an emergency meeting in Geneva**

Alex began to furiously type a reply, not caring about typos and knowing that his time could be very nearly up.

**To:** **Lin**

**I'm scared, Lin, im not gnna deny that, but ii dogt want to live teh rest o f my life in fear-awhoever long that bay eb. if we enver see each other agian, goodbye, lin**

Not to his surprise, Alex got a reply almost instantly.

**From:** **Lin**

**Goodbye to you too Alex**

John rushed into the living room carrying the backpacks. "I packed your toothbrush, Alex." He said.

"I don't know if I'm even going to live long enough to use it." Alex said.

"What do we do?"

"Whatever time we have left, we have to spend it with Eliza." Alex said. "And the others."

"I'm scared." John said. "Should I drive?"

Alex nodded, taking his backpack. "Yeah, drive."

* * *

John had dumped the backpacks and Alex's wheelchair in the trunk of his car as he drove on the nearby university campus. Traffic was high on the roads. To forget about the possible incoming apocalypse, John and Alex were listening to John's playlist on his phone. Show tunes were better than hearing what was going on. So when they got on the campus, they were shocked to see nobody around except security. Alex got the backpacks, while John got Alex's wheelchair as a security officer approached them.

"Are you two students here?" She asked.

"Yeah." John said. "I'm John Laurens and I study veterinary science and art. That's Alexander Hamilton and he studies political science." He took his backpack from Alex.

"Okay." She said. "I'm a security officer and I need you to follow me.

"Wait, what's going on? Why-" John began.

"We've been urged by Dean King to lead the students into fallout shelters-"

"Wait-fallout shelters?!" Alex blurted out.

"Yes, Dean King has had us preparing for a nuclear strike." She said. "Please follow me." She began walking.

John and Alex shared a look of worry and followed her. They followed her in silence as they went inside and down in a corridor. She opened a heavy lead door into a comfortable looking room, which had a couch, a few tables, cupboards and a door that looked like it led to another room. It looked almost like an ordinary living room, if you ignored the metal walls and door. Also in the room were the Eliza, Angelica, Maria, Dolley, James, Martha, Nathaniel, William, Aaron, Theo, Hercules, Sally and Thomas Jefferson as well as a radio that was playing Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction.

"If there's going to be a nuclear strike, I'd rather Jefferson get out and die." John whispered to Alex.

"You heard that, Jefferson, out." Alex folded his arms and John let his backpack drop.

The door to the shelter was shut and made a loud noise. John and Alex turned to the noise.

"Looks like I can't." Jefferson smirked.

"Then shut up." Alex said.

John sat down on his backpack as the song ended.

" _That was Barry McGuire with Eve of Destruction. Something that we might actually be on_." The radio presenter chuckled awkwardly. He was clearly scared. " _I-uh... I-here's Lukas Graham's 7 Years_."

The new song started and Theo looked up from her phone. "I like this song."

"Do you think they're going to drop the bomb?" Dolley asked.

"That's a really depressing thing to think about." Martha said.

"Yeah? You think _that's_ depressing?" Nathaniel asked. "We're locked in a lead lined _fucking_ fallout shelter!"

"Cool your shit, Nathaniel." Theo hissed. "This is just a precautionary measure anyway. Just listen to the radio. It's not saying that any nuclear strike is imminent-it's playing 7 Years."

"Well, Theo _is_ right." Sally said.

"Damn straight I'm right." Theo folded her arms indignantly.

"We might not all die." Sally continued. "I mean, how bad can living in a post-nuclear world be? It might not be as bad as predicted. I mean, look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

"They still had high cancer rates and lots of burns victims." Dolley argued. "And look at the amount of cancer in Chernobyl. Don't forget, if we're nuked it's bye bye doctors."

"I meant that there was no nuclear winter." Sally said.

"Yeah, but now we have H-Bombs that are so powerful they can make miles long craters in the world and make fallout spread thousands of miles." James said. "The largest H-Bomb ever detonated had a potential yield of a _hundred_ megatons. They only detonated _fifty seven_ megatons, but all houses even thirty miles away from ground zero were destroyed and people could have had third degree burns from sixty two miles away and the heat was _definitely_ felt from a hundred and seventy miles away. The shockwave from the blast was so intense that windows were shattered at nearly six hundred miles away from ground zero and get this-the fireball was four miles wide and didn't even touch the ground because the shockwave was _so intense_. And the mushroom cloud _seven times_ the size of Everest at forty miles high. Windows broke in Norway and Finland and seismic sensors were tripped all around the world, even as the shockwaves made their third trip around the world. Despite the fact that it was detonated two and a half miles above the ground, it caused an earthquake of five point five on the Richter Scale."

"Jesus Christ." John exclaimed after a brief pause.

"If that thing hit DC..." James paused. "We would be able to see the mushroom cloud. We would probably see the flash and feel the heat. We would _definitely_ feel the shockwave."

"How do you _know_ this?" Sally asked.

"Google." James shrugged, showing his phone. "It's the Tsar Bomba."

"Nope, I was wrong. _That_ is the most depressing thing." Nathaniel corrected himself and sat down on the poorly carpeted floor. "Why are you even talking about nuclear bombs when one could be dropped on us? That's just ghoulish."

"Maybe, oh, I don't know, maybe because we're locked in a nuclear bomb shelter and the president is Donald Trump-an admitted sexual predator-who has already dropped a nuke on North Korea, prompting an emergency meeting by the UN." Alex said.

"But Donald Trump wouldn't be the one using nukes." Eliza pointed out. "And Vladimir Putin wouldn't nuke his buddy, would he?"

"North Korea haven't really been military allies to Russia since the dissolution of the USSR." Hercules said. "But they _do_ share a border."

"That wouldn't be enough for them to want to nuke Trump, would it?" Angelica asked. "I mean, aren't Russian people skeptic of North Korea?"

"I think they are." John said. "But at the same time, Russia wrote off North Korea's debts a couple years back, so relations aren't _exactly_ sour."

"I still think the Kremlin don't like that North Korea is testing nukes." Hercules said.

"Have been, you mean." Maria corrected. "Trump's probably laid waste to that country with nukes. As in... No more North Korea."

"In that case, Russia _might_ nuke us." Hercules shrugged, picking at his nails in the corner. "Especially if the fallout landed in populated Russian territory."

"Maybe China will nuke us." William suggested. "Their relations are a _lot_ stronger."

"But even China's had enough of North Korea's nuclear shit." Hercules said.

"Yeah, but still, since the end of the Korean War, they have worked together militarily." William pointed out.

"China it is then." John said, seemingly accepting of his fate.

"China it is." William repeated with a slight sigh.

" _We've got breaking news coming in that the emergency UN meeting in Geneva is underway_." The radio presenter said over the end of the song. " _It is expected that they will be discussing President Trump and presumably issuing sanctions_."

"See, sanctions." Theo shrugged. "It's not severe."

"Shh!" Alex put his finger to his mouth as Aaron went to turn the radio up.

" _-om Brady of the New England Patriots-_ "

"Fuck it, it's Tom Brady." Hercules waved his hand dismissively.

Aaron turned the radio down again.

"If a nuclear strike were imminent, do you _really_ think that they would be talking about the Patriots?" Theo asked.

"Normalcy." Nathaniel shrugged. "Trying to give the appearance of shit being normal, when we're all going to die."

"Or as REM put it, 'it's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine'." Maria said.

"That's a good song." Angelica added.

"One other thing that we wouldn't have if the world was destroyed by nuclear warfare." Dolley said. "Music."

"Hey, speaking of music, do you know this new song?" Eliza asked.

"It sounds like the chorus in that Jay-Z song like a decade ago." James said.

"And the prom scene song in Napoleon Dynamite." Maria said.

"I think it is." Angelica said. "Aaron, turn the radio up."

"You got it, boss." Aaron turned the radio up. There was a brief pause as everyone listened to the radio.

"Yeah, it definitely is." Angelica nodded. "The prom song, I mean."

"Whatever it is, it's depressing." Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

"Everything's 'depressing' to you, isn't it, Nathaniel?" Eliza asked.

"This situation is." Nathaniel said. "Everything about it."

"I can't really deny that." John agreed.

"I just want to get out of here." James said. "I'm creeped out. I can't believe that this is real. Like _r_ e _ally_ real. Not just a bad dream."

"Well, it might be a bad dream." Alex shrugged. "Jury's still out on _that_ one."

"Alex, you're not helping." Theo said. "James, it'll be fine. We'll be out of here by the end of the day. After all, you know all about George King and his raging paranoia."

"Here's hoping." Nathaniel said.

"We'll be fine." Theo said.

"I wouldn't speak with certainty." Angelica said. "Especially with such uncertainties in the world."

"Mostly, I'm trying to convince _myself_ that everything will be fine." Theo sat down next to Angelica.

The music stopped suddenly and everyone turned to the radio.

" _Breaking news now-and it's not the news that any of us had been hoping for_."

"Here we go." John said.

" _Major news outlets are reporting now that there is a nuclear missile inbound for Washington DC which has been launched by China in retaliation for President Trump's nuclear attack on North Korea_." The radio presenter sounded shaken.

Mutters of shock spread among the group.

" _This is officially a two minute warning. It's all over_."

An air raid siren sounded and the group huddled up.

Alex slid from his wheelchair down on the floor and hugged around John and Eliza.

Maria and Angelica clutched each other's hands and Maria rested her head on Angelica's shoulder.

Aaron held around Theo, who was gripping onto his t-shirt.

James and Jefferson were close to each other, holding hands.

Sally had her head buried in Hercules' shoulder.

On the other hand, Nathaniel opened his backpack and pulled out a large bottle of alcohol. "Might as well get wasted one last time." He opened the bottle as Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World began to play on the radio.

"Not Peggy." Eliza muttered. "Peggy's in Virginia. With Lafayette."

"If she dies, Eliza, she won't suffer." John said soothingly. "She'll go instantly."

"I don't want her to die at all." Eliza broke from the hug and snatched Nathaniel's beer.

"Yeah, now how am I gonna get wasted?" Nathaniel asked.

"I want to get wasted too!" Eliza said, taking a long gulp of the alcoholic beverage.

"So do I." Alex took the drink off Eliza.

Eventually, the drink was being passed around the shelter. When Jefferson was taking a drink, the radio cut out unexpectedly.

"What was that?" James asked.

"Radio probably ran out of battery." Dolley said. She took out her phone and turned it on. Only it wouldn't go on. "Huh. Strange."

Martha frowned. "What is?" She asked.

"My phone won't go on." Dolley replied.

This prompted everyone else to check their phones and William to check his laptop.

"Mine's not working either."

"Nor mine."

"I can't get mine to work."

"Annoying."

"What the hell's going on?"

"This is ridiculous."

John took his phone from his pocket slowly and pressed the home button. Then he pressed the on button. Nothing happened.

Jefferson stood up with the beer bottle in his hand as everyone chattered about their expensive paperweight phones. "The bomb's hit DC." He said, with tears in his eyes. "The EMP is why nothing's working." He explained, his voice audibly shaking, but he said what nobody else wanted to admit. "The blast has happened. Guys... We're in a nuclear war."


	2. The Day After

" _This old man, he played eight,_

_He played knick-knack on my gate,_

_With a knick-knack paddywhack-_ "

"Hamilton, shut up. You've been singing that damn song for the past hour." Jefferson snapped.

"Excuse me for trying to lighten the mood!" Alex snapped back. "Sorry it's not French! Would you like me to sing fucking... Alouette instead?!"

"Anyone else feel like shooting themselves?" Nathaniel asked. He was laying in a star shape on the ground.

"Well, we don't have a gun, so we couldn't anyway." John shrugged.

"How long d'you think we've been down here?" Maria asked.

"I don't know." John shook his head. He let out a sigh. "I don't know how long it's been. It could have been a month for all we know."

"Except it hasn't been." Aaron said.

Everyone looked at him, some even gasped. He hadn't spoken since the electricity went out. Since Jefferson told them all they were in nuclear war.

"We still have rations." Aaron finished.

"We haven't got a lot left though." Alex said. "And what the hell are we going to do with all that shit?"

"Shit?" John raised an eyebrow.

"Our _literal_ shit, John." Alex said. "Poo. Pee. Blood..."

Nathaniel sat bolt upright. "That was Aaron!"

"There's seven girls in here too, Nathaniel. We can't be afraid of... Of periods," Alex cringed hard, "any more."

"Then how come you cringed?" Martha asked.

"I'm still not used to discussing it." Alex replied.

"What do you think happened to Peggy?" Eliza asked. She crawled from under the table. "And Laf?"

"Hopefully they're safe." Maria said. "And we'll see them again soon."

Eliza nodded. "What do you think it looks like up there?"

"Rubble." Nathaniel deadpanned.

"Well, we know that no bomb has struck us." James said. "We'd be vaporised at ground zero otherwise."

"I thought that was where the planes hit the towers?" Alex asked curiously.

"9/11 doesn't have a monopoly of the term 'ground zero'. There was a ground zero at Hiroshima and another at Nagasaki as well. It's used as a term to describe the place a bomb hits. Doesn't even have to be nuclear." James explained. "9/11 sort of hijacked the term."

"No pun intended?" Jefferson added quickly.

"God yeah. Can't make a pun from 9/11." James nodded.

"You know what? I can't put my finger on it, but something's telling me that 9/11 isn't the worst thing to happen to this country anymore." Angelica said sarcastically.

"Ha ha." Jefferson said.

"Well, Angelica's right." Martha said. "9/11 was bad. But if this really is a nuclear war then millions, if not _billions_ are dead out there now."

"Yeah that puts 9/11 in perspective." James said.

"So who's keeping track of the days?" Nathaniel asked.

"I don't know the days any more." Alex said.

"I don't even know the _time_." Maria added.

"I think Hercules was keeping track of the days." Jefferson said.

"Where is he?" Martha asked.

"In the shit room with Sally, Theo, William and Dolley." Nathaniel said. "Sleeping, but I don't think they're sleeping. If you know what I mean."

"Orgy?" John asked. He was picking at a fingernail.

"Probably they're just as awake as we are." James said. "I don't know what time it is or what day it is-"

"Does time even exist any more if there are no clocks left working to record it?' Jefferson asked.

"Obviously. Since shit is still happening." Maria said. "We just don't know what exactly outside this bunker."

"Tiny ass bunker." Nathaniel complained.

"It's more a lead lined room connecting to another lead lined room than a bunker." Alex said.

"True dat." Angelica agreed.

"I know you're quoting BoJack Horseman, but think about this for a second-BoJack Horseman doesn't exist any more." Eliza said. "None of our culture exists any more. All of humanity's accomplishments-all the world's _history_ is just..." She trailed off.

"It's safe to assume it's all gone." Angelica finished. "All because of President Cheeto's narcissism and refusal to allow the public knowledge of his collusion with Russia."

"Do you really think that happened?" Martha asked.

"Well, we'll never know now." Angelica said.

"True. True." James nodded in agreement. "Also, Russia probably doesn't exist any more."

"What would happen to countries who didn't get nuked?" John asked.

"They'd die of radiation." Jefferson said. "There might be a Nuclear Winter going on up there. We might be the only survivors left in the world. Who knows?"

Eliza covered her ears. "Don't say that!" She said. "I'm still holding out hope that Peggy and Laf are okay."

Angelica put her hand on Eliza's shoulder. "They aren't." She said softly.

"No. Don't say that." Eliza said. "Don't say that."

"I know it's not exactly what you want to hear-"

"It's not at _all_ what I want to hear. And I know it's not true. They're alive."

"Let her have hope, Angelica." Maria said.

"I don't know what time it is, but I'm gonna go sleep-not-sleep in the shit room." Nathaniel said. "After all, it might be past midnight. Or it could be midday. I really don't know and I don't even fucking care at this point." He stood up and walked to the door and opened it. He walked inside, where there were four bunk beds for a total of eight beds and in the middle of the room was an improvised toilet.

One of the bunk beds were unusable because they had to keep their toilet waste somewhere and they couldn't go outside.

The downside was that everyone could see you do your business. Some things were, admittedly, grosser than others, like watching Alex's paraplegic toileting routine. But it had to be done. Still, the less said about that, the better. The men were also uncomfortable being around the women who were menstruating. But it was either go in the same room as other people-men or women-or don't go at all.

"You here to piss or take a dump?" The voice of Hercules Mulligan. In the darkness, it was difficult to see, but everyone knew each other's voices or when someone was using the improvised toilet-that was actually a bin.

"Neither." Nathaniel said. "I'm here to sleep. Or to not-sleep."

"We're all doing that." Dolley said.

"Yeah, come join us." Sally said. "I'm sure the bunk above Dolley is free."

"No, I'm here." William said.

"The bunk above me is free." Theo said. "I sleep on the bottom because of my medical issues."

"Right. Okay." Nathaniel said. "Hercules, by the way, what day is it?"

"We've been down here for ten days." Hercules said. "Sally and I have been keeping track."

"By my last estimate," Sally began, "it's around eight in the evening on Sunday night."

"How?"

"Estimate counting hours." Sally said. "I'm putting my accounting skills to other uses."

"Right. Okay." Nathaniel nodded. "Sunday." He felt around for Theo's bunk and climbed to the top bed.

"Not so loud, Nathaniel." Theo complained. "My symptoms are flaring up. I'm trying to rest."

"Sorry." Nathaniel said. "So... got any gossip, William?" He asked.

"Yeah." William said. "As a matter of fact, I do. Did you know, it's Sunday? Aaaand... we're in a nuclear war? Well, it's probably over now. So we _survived_ a nuclear war. Probably. I mean... Radiation and all that shit. So we're going to die anyway. It's just more a question of how and when now."

"Barrel of laughs." Nathaniel said with a sigh.

"Hey." William said. " _You_ asked."

"And you succeeded in making everyone miserable." Theo said. "So yeah, thanks, Van Ness."

William hummed. "Dad. John. Cornelius."

"Who are they?" Hercules asked.

"My older brothers." William said. "I'm actually the youngest in my family."

"I didn't know that." Dolley said. "You're usually telling us about our lives that we've not heard about your life."

"Okay. Well, I was born in Ghent. I'm the youngest of three. The P initial stands for Peter, which is my dad's name. Or more likely _was_ my dad's name. My mom was Dutch and she died having me. She was a lawyer. Dad was a lawyer. My brothers-John and Cornelius-were also lawyers. I was studying law too-so I could also become a lawyer." William said. "Happy?"

"I don't know who my dad is." Sally began. "I'm black, but I don't really look it besides my hair as my skin's kinda pale. So I'm guessing he's a white guy. I have five older siblings. I'm also the youngest. And my mom manages a Walmart down in Virginia. Managed. Even if she survived, which I doubt, there probably aren't any more Walmarts."

"I was actually born in Londonderry, which is in Northern Ireland." Hercules said. "So I'm actually _British_ , not Irish. I only have the one brother, Hugh. He lives in the Republic of Ireland, which is actual Ireland. And on a drunken night out, I married Liz Sanders in first year." On hearing Sally gasp, Hercules hastily added, "but the marriage was never consummated and was annulled."

"I'm actually an orphan." Nathaniel said. "My parents both died when I was a kid. I don't know how, actually. It isn't talked about. I'm an only child. And I was raised by my Uncle Edmund. Yeah the uh... famous accident lawyer. He pushed me into doing law. And honestly..." he sighed. "I regret it. I wish I'd studied poli-sci like I wanted to."

"I'm a Quaker." Dolley said. "We're not like Jehovah's Witnesses or Catholics or Mormons having huge families, but I have a huge family anyway. I have seven siblings. Weirdly, there's four girls and four boys-I'm one of the four girls. And the oldest. Girl, not sibling. I have three older brothers-Walt, Billy and Zac."

"I _hate_ my fucking name." Theo said. "It's made up as hell. And if my father hadn't died before I was born, my name sure as hell wouldn't be Theodosia. I'm named after him. His name was Theodosius. So mom raised me alone. She never remarried. It was always just me and her in New Jersey. I still think her making me study French was redundant. But I do miss her and hope she's okay."

"How'd your dad die?" Nathaniel asked.

"Motorbike accident." Theo replied.

"Well... aren't we learning more about each other." William commented.

"Tell anyone about my first marriage, you're dead." Hercules said.

"How?"

"I'll push you out into the damn radiation." Hercules said. "It's only been ten days. You'll get a lethal dose in a few hours."

"So I've decided not to tell anyone about anything anyone's said..." William said.

"I really hate this." Hercules muttered.

"Hercules, it's been about another hour now." Sally said.

"So nine at night?" Hercules asked. "Great. Great."

Outside the shit room, everyone else was either sitting on the floor, on the chairs or on the furniture, with the exception of Alex, who was sitting in his wheelchair.

"I don't remember the last time I slept." John said. "It probably wasn't because I was tired either. More like I was exhausted and had to."

"I'll admit. It's got harder to sleep knowing all our families are dead and the world up there might not exist any more." Jefferson said.

"Don't say that!" Eliza blurted out. "Don't say that-they're alive! They have to be."

Angelica sighed softly and shook her head. She knew the truth and she knew that Eliza did too.

But it was the thinking about it that was the hardest part.

"Jefferson, don't be a dick." Alex said.

"I'm not being a dick-"

"You're kind of being a dick." James said.

"I blame being in such close quarters." Martha said.

"Yeah, this sucks." Maria agreed. "I mean, there are how many-fourteen? Fifteen? There are a lot of us anyway. Like for fuck's sake. I'm on my period. I don't want guys seeing that."

"My hair feels so icky and greasy." Angelica piped up.

"I haven't showered in god knows how long." Martha said.

"I feel you." James said. "I feel gross and sweaty. I know everyone else is sweaty and gross too-I smell it."

"I hate being so dirty." John moaned.

"I don't care either way." Jefferson shrugged.

"You don't like to shower too often anyway." James said. "The rest of us do."

"Wait, Jefferson, you don't shower?" Alex asked.

"I shower. Just not the last few days. Or weeks. Whatever." Jefferson shrugged casually.

"It hasn't been two weeks." Aaron said.

"Is it time for rations yet?" Angelica asked. "I'm starving."

"Who's keeping track of rations?" Martha asked.

"I am." Maria said. "And no, it's not time for rations yet."

"It's time for water rations though." Alex said. "Everyone gets another half cup. Do with it what you want."

"It's not going to last a shower, is it?" Angelica asked.

"This has to last until we die down here." Alex said. "So no."

John sighed loudly. "Fuck this sucks."

"I know." Alex said. "But this is life now. We have to get used to it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To celebrate the Doomsday Clock moving to two minutes to midnight-the closest it's been before-here's a new chapter!  
> As you can see, everyone's reacting in different ways. Nathaniel is bored. Eliza knows the truth, but is trying not to say it aloud because then it becomes true. Jefferson is largely apathetic. Some people have roles to keep themselves busy.  
> Yeah, pop-culture would be lost. History would be lost. Culture would be lost-especially oral traditions. Songs would be lost. Folk stories would be lost. Nations would be lost. A lot would be lost in a nuclear war. That's why it's always best not to have one.  
> Nuclear winter is a theory that is basically based on what happens in volcanic eruptions-shit gets spewed into the atmosphere and blocks out the sun. It causes greenhouse gasses. The hole in the ozone gets bigger. Basically, if you don't turn into a shadow, die of third degree burns or radiation poisoning, you're looking at skin cancer and sun related deaths. Whoop. How great.  
> If you got a bunker, would have to share that bunker with other people. Say goodbye to your privacy.  
> William Van Ness did actually have two older brothers called John and Cornelius. He, his father and those two brothers were all lawyers. His father's name was Peter Van Ness. And his mother was, indeed Dutch. And died giving birth to him.  
> Sally Hemings' father was Martha Wayles Jefferson's father. No, it's not you. It actually does make the whole Sally Hemings affair that much more disgusting. Also, she was an eighth black, I think and she did have pale skin. I swapped it for this story though, historically, she was the oldest of six. Here, she's the youngest of six.  
> Hercules Mulligan was born in Londonderry. Before the Irish Partition, that would have been actual Ireland-or the Republic of Ireland. But since this story is in the modern day, it makes him from Northern Ireland and thus, British. Hugh was his brother and he did go back to Ireland. Elizabeth Sanders was his historical wife. That was me making reference to it.  
> Nathaniel Pendleton was indeed an orphan raised by his uncle, Edmund Pendleton, who, back then, was actually a prolific lawyer. Nathaniel Pendleton was also a lawyer. Yes. It does make it odd that two lawyers were involved in the Hamilton-Burr duel. And since Hamilton and Burr were lawyers themselves... Let's just make it that it was four lawyers and a doctor. It wouldn't be the last time a Vice President shot a lawyer after all. Yes, Dick Cheney, I'm talking about you. Somewhere, Aaron Burr's ghost is vindicated.  
> Dolley Payne Madison was a Quaker. She was raised a Quaker. She was the fourth of eight and the first girl. Her parents did have four girls and four boys. Her older brothers were called Walter, William and Isaac. She was also expelled from the Quaker faith for marrying James Madison, a slave owner because he didn't emancipate his slaves or convert to the Quaker faith.  
> Theodosia was named after her father Theodosius, who died before she was born. He did not die in a motorcycle accident, that is because it's set today. She was raised by her single mother, but historical Theodosia's mother did remarry and had five kids with her new husband. Theodosia was also from New Jersey and she did study French. She had a thing for French culture, just as Thomas Jefferson did, only less prolific since I doubt any layperson had really heard of her before Wait For It.  
> Also, there are no showers in the Apocalypse. Yes, everyone would be filthy. Great, right?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first chapter of my new Hamilsquad story. It's taken from the pieces in the other Hamilsquad stories from Just Keep Swimming to Everything's Easier When You're Home. It will be updated much more sporadically than the others, but it's okay. Because it will be much more sadder than the other ones. And actually pretty graphic. And it is totally an AU from my AU. Because why not.


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